August Summer Days

This week marked my last week of summer break. I was caught in between feeling like I needed to pack in the last of our fun activities and also slowing down to enjoy the lack of routine. I think we found a good balance of both. There were a few rainy days this week, and on one afternoon, it started to sprinkle just as we arrived home from a park date with friends. Emmy had fun playing in the driveway. 

My Aunt Glenda, my mom's sister, stopped by while driving from Virginia (where my cousin lives) to south Florida (where she lives). She had not yet met Eli, and it had been quite a while since she had seen Emmy. It was a quick visit, but it was great to catch up with her. 

On Wednesday, we had our annual end-of-summer visit to Daddy's office. It was our first time visiting him at his new digs at the Yadkinville County Schools Central Office. To keep it simple, I've told Emmy that that is the name of his new school - "Central Office." Not to miss an opportunity to eat out, we stole Boomer away from work to grab lunch at the Center Bistro at the Yadkin Arts Council. Daddy had a full lap both at lunch and at his office!

Eli had a few new experiences this week. We tried Puffs for the first time! After an unsuccessful attempt with Cheerios at the beach, the Puffs have been much better for introducing Eli to "solid" foods. He hasn't moved much past the playing stage...we are working with him actually bringing it to his mouth and chewing. With the introduction of "finger foods," we had to make changes to our seating at the table. Now that Eli needs a tray in front of him, he moved from the Bumbo to the high chair. Since Emmy was still previously occupying the high chair, she too got an upgrade to a booster seat. (Mommy and Daddy are in our same seats!)  

Eli also went for his first ride in a playset swing. I think the pictures speak for themselves as to his feelings about the experience!

He also went for his first ride in the stroller without the car seat. 

For a while now, he has been big enough to ride directly in the stroller, but often times when we are on the go, it's easier to keep him strapped in his car seat. Since we were just walking up to our neighborhood park and not going anywhere in the car first, we left the car seat behind, and he rode like a big boy. I think he quite enjoyed it. We met Megan, Zander, and Maddox there at the park for lunch, and Emmy and Eli had fun swinging afterwards. There was a surprise visit from the ice cream truck, and all the kids got so excited to hear the music. Thank goodness Aunt Megan had some cash on hand! Each kid got to pick out their own special treat.

 Boomer and I just got back from an overnight getaway to Raleigh. It was our first night away from the kids since Eli was born, and it was great timing with the start of the school year just around the corner. Of course there are things we could have been doing at home to prepare for Monday morning, but it was so nice to enjoy the time just the two of us. Why Raleigh? Well, the weekend was suppose to look a lot different. After originally postponing her wedding in April due to COVID-19, my friend Jen picked the new date of August 8th. However, as the concerns with COVID continue and as we remain in Phase 2 with face coverings and limited gatherings, she and Paul made the tough decision to have a small, intimate ceremony rather than the large wedding they had originally planned. When we found out the news, I was going to cancel our hotel reservation, but Boomer suggested we keep it anyway. After all, we did have a babysitter lined up! While Boomer and I headed to Raleigh for our 24-hour kid-free adventure, Grammy came over to watch Emmy and Eli at our house. For dinner on Friday night, we went to Sullivan's Steakhouse, a fancy, white-table-cloth restaurant in the Glenwood district in downtown Raleigh. We tried to fit in with the other classy patrons as we enjoyed some of the best steak we've ever had. Boomer ordered the 16 ounce ribeye, and I had the steak salad. We also had the highly recommended cheesesteak egg rolls as an appetizer. After dinner, we took a stroll downtown. It was a  nice mild evening, and the temperature was perfect as the sun was setting. Much like dinner, the hotel was very fancy too - a studio suite with a full size kitchen! This morning, we fit in a run (by my request) and then hopped on I-40 to head back home. We stopped for lunch at Smokehouse at Steve's, a restaurant, market, and butchery in Graham. Since the food seemed to be the highlight of our trip, I can't help but include some pictures!

While we were in Raleigh, we loved getting photos from Grammy. She always plans the funniest activities; this time was no exception: cut-out Jello animals, chalk in the driveway, and other crafts (one that even involved glitter!) They did a little bit of schoolwork too, and Emmy wrote her name all by herself! 

There is a lot of change in the week ahead as we all return to work and school. It will be an adjustment as I go back to 40-hour work weeks, the hustle and bustle of drop-offs and pick-ups, and once again pumping throughout the day. I have so enjoyed my summer with Emmy and Eli, and I have loved the extra time with Boomer on his Fridays off. You know, I will even miss the simple moments of trying to complete a chore with two kiddos at my feet! :)

Can you tell who is who??